News

Baltimore, MD- The Major Arena Soccer League today announced the winners of its five major individual awards for the 2014/15 season.

Each team, as well as members of the league front office, were each given a ballot, and voting was conducted through the end of the regular season which concluded March 1.

The Baltimore Blast had 2 players win Major Awards. William Vanzela was named MASL Goalkeeper of the Year and Pat Healey was named MASL Defender of the Year.

Head Coach Danny Kelly said “These awards for both Pat and William are well deserved. In my opinion they are the top players in the league at their respective positions, and have had a tremendous impact on our success this season up to this point. We are looking for both Pat and William to continue to lead us in our quest for a championship.”

Missouri Comets forward Leo Gibson was the overwhelming selection for Most Valuable Player. Gibson scored a record 93 points to lead the Comets to a perfect 20-0 regular season. Gibson also set records for assists (45), power play goals (15) and points in a single game (12).

Baltimore Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Vanzela, who also won the same award in the MISL last year, went 14-2 with a MASL-record 2.83 GAA. The Brazilian also set a record with four shutouts, leading the Blast to the Eastern Division title.

Baltimore Blast defender Pat Healey won a close race for Defender of the Year. Healey led the MASL with 53 blocks while scoring seven goals and a team-high 22 assists. The Blast's captain finished third in points on his team and helped lead the Blast to an 18-2 record.

In another close vote Gordy Gurson won the league's first Rookie of the Year trophy. Gurson came to the St. Louis Ambush in a midseason trade and finished his first professional season with 46 goals, which ranked second in the league. He added 18 assists to also finish second in points with 64.

Comets Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski won the league's Coach of the Year award with little opposition. Andonovski's Comets went 20-0 and won their games by an average margin of over seven goals per game. The Comets have won their last 25 regular season games.

The Baltimore Blast and Monterrey Flash will meet this week in the Ron Newman Cup Finals. The two teams have never played each other, but Baltimore defeated the Monterrey La Raza, the Flash's predecessors, in the 2007-08 MISL championship. Baltimore is gunning for the city's eighth indoor soccer championship, while Monterrey is looking for title number five.

Game 1 is Friday, March 20 in Baltimore and Game 2 (and tie-breaking mini-game, if necessary) will be played on Sunday March 22 in Monterrey.